PEN: Recently married, Namrata Raut returned to her family home in rural western India to paint hundreds of Ganesha idols ahead of a major Hindu festival celebrating the elephant-headed deity.
Pen, in Maharashtra state, is renowned for its exquisitely designed and beautifully coloured statues of the auspicious god, which are sold around the world providing the lifeblood of this small community.
“There are about 350 workshops in the town and they all require many artists,” Raut tells AFP, putting the finishing touches on another brightly painted carving of Hinduism’s most recognisable god.
“I got married a month ago and live in Mumbai now but I’ve returned to help out. The industry is key to people’s livelihoods here. It fills the stomachs of families,” the 28-year-old adds.
In the weeks leading up to Ganesh Chaturthi around 250,000 idols are made in workshops lining the streets of Pen, a town of 30,000 people around 75 kilometres (50 miles) outside Mumbai.
The idols depict the one-tusked, four-armed Ganesha sitting holding a sweet delicacy.’
Her father’s workshop sells about 2,500 idols every season. The statues are made from clay or plaster and dipped in a white coating before being painted exactly to the customer’s specifications.
Sagar Pawar, the owner of one of Pen’s largest Ganesha idol-making factories, says his workshop churns out 25,000 statues every year, some of which are sent abroad. “”Just in this year we have sold our Ganesha idols in London and in America also,” Pawar tells AFP proudly.
In another workshop just around the corner, Dipak Samel points to a glass cabinet containing an elaborately-painted sculpture of the elephant god, unusually with a feather attached. “This one is going to Bangkok,” he says.
“My store has been in operation for 60 years. We make idols ranging in size from six inches to twelve feet, costing between 50 and 30,000 rupees,” Samel explains.
This year’s Ganesh Chaturthi runs from September 17 to 27 and culminates with the idols being ritually immersed in water.
Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, traditionally hosts some of the largest gatherings with tens of thousands dipping idols in the Arabian Sea at beaches along the city’s coast.
“Customers want eco-friendly idols now,” says Pawar.